The Pirate and the Princess
by Captainperfectswan
Summary: Ever since she was a little girl, Emma always wondered where she really belonged. She felt isolated in her castle; her father never treated her like a grown woman. Her life changes when she meets a handsome, mysterious stranger. Somehow because of him she becomes even more curious about her past. Maybe this man had all the answers she was looking for.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I have been really excited to write this story. I got the idea a couple of months ago, but I'm finally posting it! Thank you so much for reading. Feedback will be much appreciated. :D**

**Prologue**

_The rage and shouts of the bloodthirsty war filled the castle walls in a murderous frenzy. The enemies had not reached the castle yet but already Snow White and Prince James were hurried off to the passage underground to hide in. Even though Prince James was expected to lead his army, no one argued when he wouldn't leave Snow White's side, who was eight months pregnant with their first child. A baby princess that the whole kingdom was excited to meet, especially considering she would be the next heir to the throne. _

_The guards lead them through the passage. A small room was waiting for them at the end of it, heavily guarded with locks, bolts, weapons, and protectors. It was made for this exact reason and only the royals were allowed in. There was food, blankets, and any other essentials they needed were piled up on one side of the room. These goods could help them survive for months if the circumstances forced them to. _

_They had been threatened many times by King John and his army from the Kingdom of Melidien. Years had gone by but only words were being said, not action. Nevertheless, they had still prepared their armies for a surprise attack._

"_Of course they choose to attack so close to my due date," Snow was exasperated with this sudden turn of events. Doc had very specifically told her that relaxing for the next few weeks was her best option for a smooth labour._

"_It will be alright, my dear. We still have some time." James gave her words of encouragement, more to calm down his nerves than hers. _

_He would allow the enemies to stab him with their agonizing torches of fire than let them touch even one hair on Snow's head. His greatest priority was to protect his family first before anything else. If something ever happened to them he would never forgive himself. He also had his kingdom to think about and protect. Thousands of innocent lives could be taken away with this battle and he would do anything to make it stop._

"_Sir they have reached the castle grounds," the guard urgently warned them as he locked the doors behind him, "I was appointed to stay in here just in case."_

"_We appreciate all that you are doing for us, Lancelot." Snow explained, as she gave her old time friend and protector a hug. A few tears trickled down her face as she let go, James reached out for her arm as he carefully guided her to a chair to take a seat on._

"_Do you know how long-" Prince James was cut off when the screams and roars of the servants, guards, and enemies were heard. _

"_They are here!" Lancelot drew his sword, as did James._

"_They can't break through this door, right?" Snow's panicked voice asked._

"_Snow, they are a powerful army. I wouldn't put it past them to be able to break down the door. Stay back," James turned around to face his wife, his eyes filled with unshed tears, "for the sake of the baby."_

"_Yes, for the sake of your precious baby." A giggly voice replied from behind them._

_James and Lancelot turned abruptly as Snow gasped. Their swords were now pointing at the dark one, who didn't even flinch at the threat of their weapons. _

"_Rumpelstiltskin," Snow said as she slowly backed away, "what do you want?"_

"_What do I want? No, no. The real question is what do you want, dearie?" Rumpelstiltskin walked towards the trio in a confident manner. _

"_Snow, get behind me now." James hissed, heaving the sword steadier. _

"_I want to know what he wants. I have dealt with him before Charming." Snow argued. She hoped by using his nickname he would reason with her._

_His face softened but he still would not give in. _

"_Absolutely not," he said, "this thing is dangerous."_

"_You know I'm standing right here." The dark one said, using his hands dramatically to make his point._

"_Fine," Prince James spoke up, "whatever it is you want just spit it out, but leave my wife out of it."_

"_Is this really how you repay me Prince James? I gave you this life, this kingdom, this… family. You owe me, both of you."_

_Lancelot stepped in front of his King and Queen. "You will have to go through me first."_

"_Well, if you insist."_

_Lancelot moved forward, his sword plunged into the dark one's chest. The dark one disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, looking amused._

"_Over here, dearie," Lancelot turned around to see the dark one casually standing behind him, the sword no longer in his chest, "killing me is going to take more than that." _

_Before Lancelot could make his next move, the same sword that was meant to kill Rumpelstiltskin got buried into his chest instead. _

"_Lancelot," Snow screamed, "What did you do?"_

"_Well he asked for it. You should know by now to never stand in my way, if he was smart he wouldn't have threatened me." _

"_Lancelot, stay with me." Snow said, sobbing. She cradled his head in her lap, the tears falling freely._

"_I'm sorry Sn-" His last breath was drawn in a gasp before he died._

"_Snow?" Prince James stood behind his wife, placing one hand on her shoulder._

_She ignored him, gently placing Lancelot's head on the ground and slowly rising to her feet. _

"_Enough stalling, just tell us what you are here for and then please leave us alone." Snow's face was filled with fury and sadness. James went to stand beside his wife, supporting her fragile body. _

"_Leave you here to die?" He asked._

"_We are well guarded in here without your assistance, thank you." Snow hissed._

"_No you aren't well guarded, you fool."_

"_And what makes you say that?" James's voice was confident, but Snow could feel how he tensed up beside her._

"_It might be the fact that I'm the one who gave them the idea, weapons, and strong army to attack your kingdom," Rumpelstiltskin was now roaming around them, amused by their shocked reactions, "you see I made a deal with Kind John a long time ago. He already paid his half of the bargain and now it's my turn." _

"_And what?" Snow asked, "Your half of the bargain was to destroy our kingdom with his army?" _

"_Well that was half of it, yes." The dark one giggled. _

"_Then what was the other half?" The Prince asked, his hand clutching his sword._

"_You see, King John and his wife, Queen Annika, can't have… children." Rumpelstiltskin emphasized the last word, making it a point to stare at Snow's growing belly. _

"_Absolutely not, I know where you are going with this. You are wasting your time, get out." Prince James yelled. _

"_But that's where the first half of our deal comes into play. This army will not stop until every last inch of your precious little kingdom is incinerated to ash. No one will survive this, not unless you can help it." Rumpelstiltskin knew that the royal couple would refuse without any logical thoughts. He just had to show them what was at stake for their kingdom._

_He faced the palm of his hands upwards as a magical mirror materialized into midair. He grasped the handle and an image appeared in a swirl of colours. _

"_This," He pointed at the mirror, as Snow and James's eyes widened, "is what your kingdom looks like right now."_

_They couldn't hear what was going on, but they could definitely imagine that the air was filled with the screams of their dying subjects and the shouts of the army as they made their kill. Dust, ash, and fire surrounded the victims in the streets, and in their homes. They could just barely make out the blood and dead bodies. _

_Snow gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. She turned around to rest her head on James's shoulder. James himself had paled from the sight that was being shown to him. _

"_Stop this now!" James shouted._

"_You know I can't dearie. A deal's a deal."_

"_This is sick," James said, "I will give you anything but my child. That is out of the question." _

"_But you see it can't be anything but your baby that will save all these people. Let's just call her the saviour then, shall we?" _

"_Her? how did you-" James started._

"_Please James, you insult me. I know everything." Rumpelstiltskin placed his hand on his chest to show the "hurt" he was feeling. _

"_Why did you choose us? Why did you choose our baby?" James asked in a small voice._

"_Well, the King and Queen want a girl, someone of the royal blood and someone that could possess magical properties. Yes, I know. They were very specific in their request." He explained._

"_My daughter couldn't possibly have magic." James was flustered; all this new information was overwhelming him. _

"_Of course she does, dearie. She is the product of true love." _

_James gaped at him, his head filled with all the possibilities that could happen if he didn't accept this deal. But no way in hell was he giving up his daughter like that. _

"_Tick tock dearie. The longer you take the more destruction will happen to your kingdom."_

"_Okay fine, we take your deal." Snow, who had been in James's embrace that whole time finally, spoke up. _

"_What?" James stared at his wife in disbelief, "no this is our child. We can't give her up so easily."_

"_We can and we will." Snow stepped away from her husband, turning around to face the creature that was going to take everything that mattered away from her. "Now, stop the army."_

_Rumpelstiltskin clapped his hands together, "Already done, dearie." _

_As if to prove his point, he once again showed the couple the mirror. _

_The army was retreating, but the damage they caused was still disastrous. _

_The dark one took out a scroll and quill from his coat pocket, handing it to Snow._

"_This is our contract, for you to confirm our deal." He explained._

"_Yes, of course." Snow grabbed the contract and quill out of his hand. She wrote her signature at the bottom. Once it was done the scroll and quill vanished into thin air. _

"_Pleasure doing business with you, dearie," He cheerfully said, "I will see you in a month or so when your baby is born." _

_With that the dark one disappeared in his cloud of purple smoke. _

"_Snow, what have you done?"_

_Snow prepared herself for his anger, but it never came. He was just utterly confused. _

"_Charming, I'm not just giving our daughter away without a fight. I did this to save all those innocent people. The army is gone, we are safe. I will figure something out."_

"_You don't understand Snow. We just made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, the dark one. No one breaks deals with him. We have no chance to win this."_

_Snow grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. "We can try. I can't imagine giving her up, it's not what I'm planning to do. Charming we will come up with a plan together. It's what we always do."_

_He gave her one small nod; everything that could go wrong when their child is born is all he thought about over the next month. _

* * *

_**ONE MONTH LATER:**_

_Snow was clutching James's hand, screaming as her contractions started up again. She had been in labour for five hours until Doc finally told them it was time._

_The guards, dwarves, fairies, and every loyal subject in the kingdom was standing guard, ready for an attack. Everyone's task was to save this baby, no one, not even Rumpelstiltskin was getting his hands on her. _

_It wasn't an easy plan; one month was not enough time to come up with a defence strategy, especially when they were dealing with the dark one himself. _

_With the baby coming a little earlier than expected, last minute preparations had been made while Snow was in labour. _

_Even with the reassurance that everything was going to be okay, James was still worried. But he put on his best game face, not allowing Snow to see even a second of his hesitation. _

_She had to get through this, they both did. _

_He was finally going to meet his daughter. He felt joy deep inside his heart. But of course he didn't feel enthusiastic to bring this child into the dangers of the world. _

_Rumpelstiltskin was a dark beast that he had dealt with before, and he would go through hell to make sure his own child didn't have to go through it too._

"_Charming…" Snow panted._

"_I'm right here my love. Just hold on to my hand, you're almost there." James encouraged._

_Her grip on his hand was almost painful. She twisted it until he didn't think it was possible that he would be able to move his hand again._

_She bit her bottom lip, drawing blood, as she tried not to scream. _

_She was a tough one, which made him proud, but sometimes he just needed to remind her that it was okay to act and feel vulnerable at times. _

"_A few more pushes." Doc said._

_Snow pushed at her next contraction and she finally allowed herself to scream. _

_After her next push though, she let out a gasp of relief when they heard the sounds of their child crying. _

"_You did it." James whispered in her ear before he gently placed his lips to her forehead. _

"_Can I see her?" Snow asked. Her excitement was radiating off her facial expression. James had never seen such a beautiful sight._

_Doc had the baby girl cleaned up and wrapped in a white knit blanket Granny, one of Snow's dear friends, had woven together as a gift. He handed her to James, who draped her in his arms. _

_She had her mother's chin, an adorable little dent placed in the middle of it. He couldn't help but reach out and caress it with his thumb. _

_Her skin was smooth to the touch and he felt a little teary when her teeny fingers grasped onto his larger one. _

_His hand moved up to smooth out the small amount of hair sprawled on top of her head. Sunlit blonde hair, just like his once was. He knew in time it would turn darker, but she would have still been beautiful if she had inherited her mother's black hair instead. _

_James sat on his wife's bedside before he gently passed her over to her. _

_Snow was in tears when she set eyes on her daughter for the first time. _

_Her name had been sewn onto fabric, as requested by Snow herself. The precious cursive letters had been added to her blanket._

_Emma._

_Her eyes were open, bright green watching them. They had this fire inside them that James could only point out to be Snow's exact eyes._

_She was the perfect combination of both of them. _

_The product of true love. _

_But that's when it went all downhill from there. _

_Snow and James had only managed five minutes with their daughter before she vanished into thin air._

"_What the-" James was already pulling out his sword when he heard his voice._

"_Oh, there won't be any need for that dearie." Rumpelstiltskin giggled. _

_One sudden whoosh of his hand sent James's sword plummeting to the ground. He was dumbfounded; everything that he was afraid of was coming true right in front of his eyes and for the first time he felt completely powerless._

"_Where's my daughter?" Snow yelled. The tears were forming at the edges of her eyes again._

"_Well you made a deal dearie; you signed on a contract and everything. Did you really think your little parade of army was going to keep me from fulfilling our bargain?"_

"_Give her back." James commanded, his voice sounded small to him though._

"_You see, I can't do that. Your little girl, Emma, is already in the loving arms of her new parents."_

"_Rumplestil-" Snow never got a chance to beg, for he was already gone._

* * *

**18 Years Later.**

He was fighting in the grasp they had on his upper arms, struggling to breathe after a few punches in the gut, and still they had no mercy.

When they had found him there was no explanation, nothing to make him figure out where they were taking him.

Every time one word left his mouth he was left with another bruise.

They definitely had no idea as to who they were dealing with, which was fine as long as he gave back the favour.

Lots of gruesome thoughts filled his brain when he thought about how he was going to end their miserable lives.

His wasn't that great either, but at least he had something to live for.

All thoughts left his mind when he came face to face with the castle.

Why would they bring him here?

"To the throne room!" Someone ordered.

Less than five minutes later the heavy doors that lead to the throne room opened up for him.

He smirked at the guards who dragged him inside.

There were two silhouettes at the end of the room, clutching each other's hands.

It couldn't be…

When they finally made it to the other side, one guard dug his nails into his neck and pushed him down onto his knees.

"Bow before the King and Queen peasant."

"I could assure you I'm not a-"

He felt another blow to the side of his face.

"That won't be necessary." Spoke a small voice.

The guard bowed his head and stumbled backwards.

"Why am I here?" His rich accent filled the room.

"The real question is are you willing to do whatever it takes to receive all the riches we have to offer?" The same voice spoke as he now recognized could only be the queen's.

A smirk darkened his face as he bowed his head down again.

"I would do anything for that, milady."

"Then it's settled," the King said, "we have a quest for you Captain Hook."


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: I actually wrote this chapter three times until I actually liked where it was going. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think. :D**

Her golden locks glistened from the scorching sun that shined through her bedroom window. Emma gazed longingly at the beautiful array of forest colours that this season had blessed them with. The red, orange, yellow, and green filled the atmosphere until the horizon, until the point she couldn't see anymore. She knew the sea was out there, but she had never seen it. Her privileges of doing whatever she wanted could only go so far. When she was younger, her mother would read her stories about the sea and how so many adventures took place there. Her mother's soft voice would describe new lands to journey through, villains in every corner, pirate ships that you could notice from miles away. Her father disapproved of these tales; he would say they put "ideas" in her head. That's why her mother read them to her in private, right before she would fall asleep in her comfortable bed.

When her mother died, she had only been 7 years old. No matter what people did to make her feel better, it never worked. She would lock herself away in her chambers, clutching the books that her mother had read to her like a lifeline, and sobbed into them. So many times she had wished to be a part of those thrilling adventures that could take her far, far away. The only thing she realized was that the harder she wished for it to happen, the more it wouldn't come true. She was a princess after all, and her responsibilities kept her from living the life she wanted.

She was 18 now. Her father was the only family she had left, but he was also the person who banned her from ever stepping foot outside the castle grounds.

Her maids would dress her up in unreasonably large gowns that were made out of bright dazzling colours. She meets diplomats, princes, kings, no one that stuck around long enough for her to care. They were the only people that she ever got to see who didn't live inside the castle.

So when she heard rumors of another visitor arriving that very day, as she was sneaking around the servants kitchen, which is the area in the castle she enjoyed wasting away her days in, she felt her only choice was to hide away in her bedroom. This guest must be awfully important if her father never told her about them visiting, usually she was advised a week ahead of time.

When one of her maids, Ruby, walked into her bedroom a half an hour later, she sighed deeply, knowing she couldn't avoid this meeting. In Ruby's arms rested a blue and white dress, lace and jewels decorated the corset in precise detail.

"Isn't that a little too fancy? I mean I'm just meeting another one of father's uninteresting guests." Emma dreaded wearing such an uncomfortable corset, especially if her father decided to keep her there with them for the rest of the day, which she knew would be the case.

"That's what I thought when I first saw it, probably some kind of important trade the king wants to make, he wants you to make an impression." Ruby had always been the only person that she could talk to about anything. She was the only real friend she had, and her Granny worked down in the kitchen, they were both like family to her. There was this one time where one of the other maids in charge tried blaming Ruby for stealing from her, the maid had brought this matter over to her father, who was clearly furious and wanted Ruby and her Granny tossed in the streets. Emma had immediately known that Ruby hadn't done any such thing, she had something she likes to call her "superpower" where she could tell when someone was lying. She had fought for her best friend, and to her relief she was still here. She didn't know what she would do if her and Granny weren't around anymore.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was his intentions." Emma said, reaching out to feel the fabric of her new dress between her fingers. She just couldn't wait until this day was over.

* * *

After Ruby had helped Emma into her dress, she had to leave and attend to her other chores.

Emma gaped at her reflection in her bedroom mirror, the dress was stunning but she felt out of place wearing it. She had no idea when this guest was arriving and her father had not called her down yet so she assumed she had some time to kill before then.

It was probably a terrible idea to go down to the kitchen while she was wearing that dress, but she didn't care. She wanted to visit Granny again before she had to exchange small talk with strangers for the rest of the day.

Emma arrived just as Granny was yelling orders at some of the cooks to _"make sure there were enough potatoes_," or asked _"why the vegetables for the soap were not cut up yet?" _

This was typical Granny, she wouldn't take any excuses.

"My dear Emma, what are you doing down here with that on?" Granny asked as she accusingly pointed her wooden spoon at Emma's dress.

"I was hoping if I disappeared for a few hours, maybe my father wouldn't call me down." Emma knew that there was no getting out of this, but she felt less anxious down there.

"Oh no you're going,"

"But-"

"No buts, I'm making this dinner especially for you, you are going."

"Wait, this guest is joining us for dinner?" Emma asked. She dreaded the evening even more now.

"That's right dear." Granny was busy concentrating at her task at hand, so Emma decided it was time for her to go.

"I will be back tomorrow," She waved goodbye to Granny, "If I survive the rest of the evening." Emma muttered to herself as she turned the corner and smacked right into something… no someone.

"I'm sorry," Emma quickly said as she glanced up to meet bright blue eyes.

"No need love, it was entirely my fault." The stranger said. Emma couldn't help staring at him.

He was quite handsome; he looked as if he came out of a really good dream. Blue eyes outlined in black eyeliner, black hair that she just wanted to run her fingertips through, and dimples that were the result of the smirk that was plastered on his face as he watched her. She wondered for a moment if perhaps it was possible that he was staring back at her for the same reasons she was, but that was probably not the case.

"Lass you okay? You're gripping my arm a little too firmly there." Emma quickly snapped out of her train of thought, glancing up to see her hand was clutching his upper arm; he didn't even flinch, only watched her with an amused expression.

"Sorry again," Emma mumbled, letting go of his arm. She had to escape, run back to her room, for some reason she didn't feel uncomfortable by him, in fact she felt the complete opposite and that frightened her.

For some reason he seemed planted in the area he was standing on, as if he didn't want to move away from her, so Emma decided she had to make the first move. She shifted to the side so she could easily walk around him, but just as she was about to walk away she felt cold metal against her bare skin.

"And where is the princess off too?" The stranger asked, turning her back around to face him.

Emma was speechless as she stared down at his left hand, or where should have been his left hand; instead a metal hook seemed to replace it, which is what he used to stop her from walking away.

"I don't really think it's any of your business," Emma tried speaking with as much confidence as she could gather, looking him back in the eye, "And how do you know who I am?"

"The dress love," He said gesturing towards the ridiculous fancy dress she was wearing, "I mean I'm no expert or anything. For all I know you could be a servant trying to look like something you're not. If you are I would say don't bother darling, that dress would probably look better on someone else."

"Who are you?" Emma demanded. She felt her cheeks turn red at his words, did he just insult her?

"Maybe I'm your knight in shining armour or your worst nightmare." He was way to close; his body seemed to lean into her like a gravitational pull, this man was not concerned about personal space, he made that plainly clear.

"And maybe I just need to punch you in the face." Emma spit back.

"Oh feisty, I guess you're not as entirely boring as they say you are." He said, the bastard was teasing her.

"Who says I'm-"

She heard footsteps in the distance, not coming from the kitchen, but the other way. It had to be a guard, they usually did roam around here, but she couldn't be found now. Her father probably sent them to look for her.

She had to hide, but the kitchen was not an option. It was too open and there weren't any good places to hide.

"In the closet." She said, grabbing the man's good hand and dragging him towards the small closet in the hall where the servants stored all the extra food in.

"Love what are you-"

"Just be quiet." She said, pushing him in the closet first before getting in there herself. There was barely any room for them to breath in the small area.

Emma drew in a breath when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, he pulled her against him more then was necessary and she tried looking in any other direction but his, when she did though, she could feel his amused gaze on her.

"Could you please stop staring at me like that, it's getting annoying." She said, refusing to look up at his blue eyes, knowing very well that she wouldn't be able to look away once she did.

"Forgive me, but I am a little curious as to why you dragged me in here. I mean I'm not complaining, not at all. A woman as beautiful as you deserves my full and prompt attention and you are fairly stunning."

His words finally made her snap; she looked up at him, scowling at his pleased expression.

"Oh so you're mocking me now?" This man was impossible, the faster she could get out of that closet the better.

"I'm not mocking you love. I don't go around telling all women they look stunning." Emma couldn't help but sarcastically laugh at that.

"I find that hard to believe." She said, "You sir have no respect."

"The name is Killian Jones, but people prefer to call me Captain Hook. And I don't believe you know me well enough to judge me so quickly."

"Clever name," Emma said, nodding towards his hook, "And I don't need to know you to know you're a real jerk."

"I prefer dashing rapscallion." He said. That smirk was still plastered on his face, "Whoever you're hiding from should be long gone by now."

"You could go if you want, I don't care." She said casually.

"Of course you don't. You just probably need more room for that stolen dress of yours." He let go of her, reaching around her so he could turn the door knob.

"It's not stolen and that's not why I'm hiding." She tried explaining. She knew he assumed that was the explanation for why she dragged them in there and for some reason that infuriated her.

"Don't worry lass, I know." He said before opening the door. He looked back at her one last time before closing the door between them.

Emma sighed in a breath of relief. Now that he was gone it was much more peaceful.

She was startled though when she heard the door open again, assuming the guards had probably found her. She glanced up and instead saw him standing in the doorway.

"Oh, and the coast is clear." He whispered, closing the door back again.

* * *

When Emma finally escaped back to her bedroom, she didn't realize Ruby was in there until she cleared her throat.

"Ruby…" Emma shrieked, almost tripping over her dress from being startled. "Oh, I thought you were…"

"Who else would be in here?" Ruby asked.

"No one." Emma said too quickly.

"Where have you been?" Ruby seemed to ignore Emma's suspiciousness, "Your father has been calling for you for hours."

"It's been hours?" It didn't feel like she was gone that long.

"Yes, now go down there before we both get in trouble."

"But-"

"Now!"

Just like that Emma found herself walking down to the throne room, and dreading every step.

When she made it down there the guards held the doors open for her so she could enter. If she was late then her father would be livid. She just hoped this guest had him occupied enough to forget about her tardiness.

When she walked in though, she saw that being late was the least of her worries. Her father was occupied all right, with a tall handsome stranger.

He was the same handsome stranger that had impossibly bright blue eyes and was hiding in a closet with her a few hours ago.

Both he and her father glanced at her as she approached them. She could only think to not look at the smirk she knew was on his face.

"Emma, I would like you to meet Killian Jones, our guest." Her father said, gesturing towards him.

Emma curtsied in his direction, still not meeting his eyes. He bowed down in return.

The only thing that was in her mind in that moment was the fact that she was screwed.


End file.
